TEXT Function Formatting Guide

Nothing is worse than spending hours creating a report, only to have the formatting look off. By the end of this post, you'll be able to use the TEXT function to format numbers as dates, currencies, or percentages, making your reports look professional and easy to read. Imagine you have a dataset of sales figures, and you want to format them as currencies with two decimal places.

Scenario-Based Example

Imagine you have a dataset of sales figures in column A, and you want to format them as currencies with two decimal places. You can use the TEXT function to achieve this. Select the cell where you want to display the formatted value, go to the Formula bar, and type:

=TEXT(A1, "#,##0.00")

This will format the value in cell A1 as a currency with two decimal places.

Common Mistakes

One common mistake is to forget to include the quotes around the format string. For example, =TEXT(A1, mm/dd/yyyy) will result in a #NAME? error. To fix this, make sure to include the quotes around the format string: =TEXT(A1, "mm/dd/yyyy").

Real-World Example

Suppose you have a dataset of dates in column A, and you want to format them as "Month Day, Year" (e.g., "January 12, 2022"). You can use the TEXT function to achieve this:

=TEXT(A1, "mmmm dd, yyyy")

This will format the value in cell A1 as a date in the desired format.

When Things Go Wrong

Here are some common error scenarios and their fixes:

1. #VALUE! error: This error occurs when the value you're trying to format is not a number. To fix this, make sure the value is a number, or use the IFERROR function to handle the error.
2. #NAME? error: This error occurs when the format string is not enclosed in quotes. To fix this, make sure to include the quotes around the format string.
3. Incorrect formatting: This can occur when the format string is not correct. To fix this, check the format string and make sure it matches the desired format.

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